


the secrets that follow us

by alternateevak



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Brothers, M/M, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Peter Parker, So Is Peter, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, also harley is gonna be the best big brother, also its like mostly soft but like it's also really ful of angst so, aunt may died :-((, its actually mostly angst, peterned bc peterned rights
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-01 03:30:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18792097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alternateevak/pseuds/alternateevak
Summary: Something happens to Harley's family. Something bad. So, he goes to live with Tony. He meets his new family and automatically clicks with a certain Peter Parker. But he's hiding something and Harley is determined to find out, as his new appointed big brother and consequently protector.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a dark night, the night Harley Keener lost his mother. The night Harley Keener lost his sister. It was a cold night, one where you cuddle up into your blankets and fall into a warm paralyzing sleep. The kind of night where not even the slightest sound would wake you, except maybe the sound of your little sister’s screams echoing through the hallways. He’d shot up in his bed in a cold sweat, his head darted around but the house seemed quiet enough. He’d thought it was just a nightmare. He’d thought it was just his mind playing tricks on him, the cold sleep plaguing him with fears of losing the ones he loves. So, he went back to sleep. His head hit the pillow and his eyes drooped closed and he fell back into a restless and fearless sleep. 

What he wasn’t expecting was to walk into the kitchen and find his mother and sister lay dead upon the kitchen table, to see the door bashed in. It wasn’t targeted, there was no point to it. They were gone and that was all he could see. He left out an ear piercing scream, attempting to wake the cold, dead figures upon the table but it was no use. It was no use. It was no use. 

So his wails dwindled out slowly, his hands lay restless on their bodies. He knew he had to get out of there ]. He couldn’t keep looking at them like that. He couldn’t stands on the looks on their faces, he couldn’t. He didn’t know what to do. 

He caught glimpse of the pink, broken watch attached to his little sisters arm. He thought back to those days 8 years ago. He thought back and he saw the phone and the gear in his garage and the phone number which lay behind the sign with the potato gun mark II lay on it. 

He grabbed the phone and made a phone call which, without his knowing or his knowledge, would change Harley Keener’s life forever. He lost his family, but he would find a new one. 

His shaking hands typed in the numbers hesitantly yet desperately simultaneously. He pressed the call button and held the phone up to his ear. It rung and it rung and it rung and oh god he wasn’t going to answer he wasn’t-

“Kid, Hey! How you doing? Haven’t heard from you in a while” The voice of Tony Stark echoed through the phone receiver. He heard a distant voice in the background, asking who it was on the phone but Tony gave no response. Harley knew he needed to respond. Tony Stark was on the phone for gods sake but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. “Kid, everything okay?”

“I-” Harley tried but his voice chocked back and he let out a small sob. He took a deep breath. “C-can you come and get me? I-I don’t know where else to go.” He whimpered slowly. He heard Tony’s sharp intake of breath and he could hear the concern in the way he seemed to just stop breathing for a second. 

“Yeah, kid, of course. You at home?” Tony asked and Harley started nodding quickly. He nodded even though Tony couldn’t see him because he couldn’t say anything else. So he nodded and let out a pained noise as Tony hung up the phone delicately. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Mr Stark, who was that?” Peter called from across the lab, a small explosion echoing from over there as he did so and a small “woah!” escaped his mouth. He turned in his chair to see Tony frantically searching the lab for - actually he didn’t know what Tony was looking for. He looked scared and concerned. It was as if he’d just heard somebody had died. 

“For fucks sake!” Tony yelled, throwing his spanner at the floor and standing up and starting to pace. Peter moved backwards in his chair slightly, looking at Tony in concern but unsure whether Tony even knew he was still there. “JARVIS, get me on the fastest flight to Tennessee that you can” He said.

Peter stood up and followed Tony out of the lab, quick at his heels. “Tennessee, what’s in Tennessee? Is everything okay?” Peter said, throwing questions at Tony, following him into his room as he started throwing things in a bag frantically before zipping it up and pushing past him. Peter grabbed Tony’s arm, boldly considering the boys usual way of acting around Mr. Stark.

“Look, kid, i’ll be back tonight there’s just something i have to take care of first okay?” Tony said, looking at Peter almost guiltily.

“I don’t care if you’re going to Tennessee Mr. Stark” Peter said, rolling his eyes at him dramatically. “I just want to know what the hell is going on? Slow down a second” He asked, waiting for Tony to respond to him.

“Sorry, kid, you’re right” Tony said, sitting down on the bed his bag had previously been sat on. Peter was still stood in the doorway, waiting to be invited in. It was rude to walk into someones room uninvited. “Sit down” Tony continued, knowing exactly why Peter wouldn’t just walk in. 

Peter sat down next to Tony, shuffling around slightly so he’d be comfortable. “Do you remember that kid I told you about? The one who helped with some iron man stuff you would’ve been like 8?” Tony started, contemplating for a second. “ Yeah you would’ve been 8, around when everyone thought i was dead”

“Mr. Stark you’re gonna have to be more specific you’ve been declared dead more times than i can count” Peter says with a slight smile on his face. 

“You’re a cheeky shit you know that?” Tony said, ruffling Peter’s hair lightly “But you know who i mean right?”   


“Yeah I know who you mean, you guys still talk sometimes right?” Peter questioned and Tony nodded in response. 

“Yeah! Yeah I do. He just called and he didn’t say anything for a while and then he just started crying asking me to come and pick him up because he didn’t have anywhere else to go” Tony said, worry laced into his voice and features. “I don’t know anything else all i know is i have to go and get him, hence why im going to Tennessee”

“What if it’s really bad, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, now mildly worried himself.

“That’s why i have to get to Tennessee as quickly as possible” Tony said, standing and grabbing his bag. “JARVIS, any news on that flight”

“Yes, sir, the plane is on it’s way now” JARVIS replied, almost relieved himself. 

“Thank you JARVIS, this is why i love you” Tony replied, blowing a kiss at the ceiling.

“Do you want me to come with you, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, standing from Tony’s bed. He automatically saw the look on Tony’s face change. 

“No way” He said, using his dad voice. Peter sighed and gave Tony the look. “No! Like you said it could be really dangerous i can’t put you in that situation. Not again”

“Mr. Stark, maybe if i came and there was something dangerous there i’d be able to help! This kid, he doesn’t have powers right? So it would just be you and the kid and you’d have to protect him and fend off the bad guys and that’s difficult!” Peter says. “I’d know and I know you do too” 

Tony sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead in contemplation. He looked at Peter and the desperate look on his face and sighed for a second time. 

“Fine but if there is something dangerous you just make sure nothing comes near you or Harley, you got it?” He said. Peter smiled and nodded, happy he got his way. 

He was going to Tennessee. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When they arrived, the house looked like an abandoned crime scene. The door was smashed in and there were red footprints and the residue of a gunshot leading to the door. Peter pulled his mask off, looking out the plane window and changing into civilian clothes. Tony looked at him confused, putting his glasses on. Peter then winked at Tony, pulling on the web shooters on his wrist without the suit and shoving a mask under his shirt. 

“Why don’t you just wear the suit” Tony asked, confusion laced in his features. Peter didn’t look at him, intently staring at the floor while he played with his hands. 

“If something bad happened, and he lost his family. It’s really scary, especially as a kid. If spider man shows up at his front door he’ll just be more scared” Peter echoed. He didn’t look at Tony because he hates the looks of sympathy because he’s fine. He’s fine. 

He walks out the plane slowly, onto the roof of the building they landed on and jumped straight down, landing on his feet and waiting for Tony to climb down the ladder provided by JARVIS.

“Everytime you do that, you give me a heart attack, y’know?” Tony says as he sees the smirk on Peter’s face. “Don’t smirk you’re going to be the reason for my first grey hair!”

“You’ve already had your first grey hair Mr. Stark” He teases, waiting for Tony to step in front of him, falling into step with him. 

“You’re getting worse than me with these snap backs you know that right?” Tony said, pushing Peter behind him lightly as he noticed they were approaching the house. They moved forwards slowly, glass crumbling from the door beneath their feet. 

“Harley!” Tony called out, his voice softer than Tony had ever heard it before. Peter saw the head of brown hair before he saw the bodies. He saw the sobbing mess on the floor and saw Tony rush to him to try and calm him. A panic attack, he’d noticed.

Then he saw the bodies. He saw the bodies and the way they were killed and all of a sudden his heart stopped and fear was written across his features. He saw them lay upon the table, like they were meal like almost everytime he’s too late and he sucked in a deep shaking breath and he had to step back because he knew exactly who did this.

He knew exactly who it was and he’d left new york now too and he’s too late. He’s too late everytime. It’s his fault Uncle Ben got murdered and it’s his fault the same person killed his Aunt May and its his fault that this kid he’d never met before lost his family and it was his fault.

He was too late and too many people are dying because of it. He was going to stop him, if it was the last thing he’ll do.

“Pete?” Tony asked, which snapped him out of his glare at the bodies in fear. He pressed his lips together and glanced at Tony who had managed to get the other boy who looked as if he was just a few years older than Peter. Peter nodded, not trusting himself enough to use words. “Everything okay?”

“Great, Mr. Stark” he tried to lie, smiling lightly. 

“You ready to go?” he asked with concern laced in his futures for both of the boys which stood beside him. Peter nodded and walked out of the house with shaking footsteps. 

Harley did the exact same thing.


	2. visions we can't forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley adjusts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the playlist i was listening to in the kitchen scene and while writing https://open.spotify.com/user/11152704115/playlist/3bzC4RLzL9BGAHxzSWafJj?si=jcAG1AxlQKKPFAkzyNblhA so if you wanted to take a look at that while you read then i hope you enjoy it !! when they dance its to the song "tongue tied".
> 
> i also got a comment asking about the timeline while i did repsond to but felt the need to clarify !! this is set about a year after homecoming however tony rebuilds JARVIS after aou. morgan is also already born and three years old, she was born around the civil war period ish. peter is 16 and Hhrley is 18. i hope that clears anything up and i hope you enjoy this chapter !!

When they arrived back at the compound, the first Peter noticed was the awkward uncomfortable silence that lingered between the trio. Nor Peter or Harley had spoken the entire journey back from Tennessee and it was early in the morning. Peter had school in the morning but he felt bad leaving them, so he leant against the wall and folded his arms in an awkward Peter Parker manner waiting for Tony to tell them what would happen next. Harley leaned against the opposite wall, in a similar manner but instead of having his arms crossed he was fiddling with his fingers, his red rimmed eyes glaring at his shows like they’d personally offended him.

Tony stood there, looking like he wanted to say something. He looked at the two boys leaning against the walls in the hallway and let out a sigh and gave Peter a pointed look. Peter knew the look. Tony wanted Peter to do something. He then looked at Harley his eyes softening a little bit. Peter sighed. He knew what Tony wanted him to do. He nodded at Tony and the desperation and thankfulness in his da- mentor’s eyes was enough for Peter to know Tony really needs this.

“Okay kids, it’s late you should uh- probably go get some rest” Tony said, ruffling Peters hair slightly and smiling at him. “I’m gonna go and make sure Morgan’s in bed okay? Can you show Harley to a room on your floor?” Tony asked, a small smile on his face as he looks at Peter.

“No problem, Mr. Stark” Peter replied with a small smile on his face. Tony raised his eyebrows at him in annoyance. 

“For the last time, call me Tony” He said, still looking at Peter. Peter looked at the floor and tried to hide a smirk.

“Of course, Mr. Sta- Tony.I meant Tony.” He says quickly, smiling back up at his mentor. He caught a quick glimpse of Harley who despite the pain evident on his face had the smallest bit of amusement in his features. 

“Don’t forget to go and see Morgan, give her a night-night kiss or whatever you two do everytime she asks for you in the evening” He pointedly said. Peter smiled and nodded in response. “Okay, boys, get some sleep busy day tomorrow!” 

“What’s tomorrow?” Harley asked, looking up from the floor at Tony in confusion. 

“Yeah, Mr. Stark I have school tomorrow……” Peter trailed off looking at Tony in almost replicated confusion to Harley. He also realises thats the first time he’s heard Harley’s voice. You could tell he was from the country, the accent was laced into his words. He would’ve teased him about it if they were friends, but they didn’t know eachother yet. Peter didn’t know him but he hoped they’d get along, at least for Mr. Stark’s sake.

“Nope, no school tomorrow!” Tony announced, smirking at Peter and then turning to look at Harley. “and you’ll see” He finished, winking and ruffling both boys hair, before walking out and calling to JARVIS to take him to Morgan’s room. 

“Should i be scared?” The southern accent from the across the room asked Peter. Peter scoffed and laughed slightly. 

“Very” He replied with another small chuckle. “You ready to go upstairs? It doesn’t look like you have any clothes, right?” He asked. Harley gave him a pointed look, almost exactly the same as the one Tony gives him sometimes. 

“Oh yeah, y’know, while i was panicking because my mother and sister were murdered i had time to pick up a bag and pack some clothes for my impromptu vacation” Harley deadpanned. Peter moved from the wall and fiddled with hands slightly.

“Sorry” Peter apologised. “I’m sure i’ll have something that might fit you i don’t know though you’re definetley taller than me and older than me so im not sure but i can try and look-”   


“Don’t worry, city boy, i was kidding” He said, smirking slightly at the other boy. Peter looked at him in confusion. “Tony grabbed me some stuff while you were frozen or whatever the hell you were doing”

“O-Oh!” Peter said with a small smile on his face “Thank god because i don’t honestly think i’d have anything that would fit you, you’re so tall!” He exclaimed. He saw the amusment on Harley’s face as he tapped on Peter’s head lightly.

“Come on, cityboy, show me to your floor or whatever the hell that means” Harley said, gesturing in front of them. Peter stalked forward towards the lift.

“JARVIS can you take me to my floor please?” Peter asked the cieling. Harley glanced at him with honest confusion, as if he hadn’t met and fixed JARVIS all those years ago.

“Yes, of course, Mini Stark” JARVIS replied and Peter groaned as Harley chuckled slightly.

“Mini Stark? Really?” He asked and gestured upwards “JARVIS calls you ‘Mini Stark’?”

“It’s not like i want him to dude” Peter complained and glared up at the ceiling. “JARVIS we talked about this, Morgan is Mini Stark it doesn’t matter what Thor tells you” 

“I’m sorry, mini boss, but Mr. Thor insits that i call you Mini Stark and Morgan Tiny Stark, considering she is only 3 years old” JARVIS replies and Peter huffs.

“Yeah, by the way, who is Morgan?” Harley asked Peter. Peter blinked, processing the question for a second before seemingly perking up as they arrived at Peter’s very high up floor. 

“Oh! Morgan is Mr. Stark’s and Miss. Potts’ daughter!” Peter says with a small smile. “You’ll love her, she’s so sweet. She loves to give hugs”

“How do you know i’ll love her when you don’t know me?” Harley asks and this time it’s Peter giving the pointed look.

“Everyone does” Peter says, stopping outside a door. “You can stay in here, if you want. My rooms just across the hall if you need anything. It might be a bit messy it’s where i um keep my lego and stuff but you can do whatever the hell you want with it for tonight i’ll just move it tomorrow” Peter says, turning to open his door before remembering something. “Oh yeah! There’s this big like lego death star in the middle of the floor you can move it obviously but don’t break it or Ned would be so pissed at me” Peter rambled. Harley looked slightly starstruck.

“Ned?” He questioned. “Wait ,you’re a starwars nerd city boy?” he continued.

“My boyfriend” Peter said over the second question. He paused for a second then and glanced at Harley not realising he’d totally just outed himself to someone whos practically a stranger. He froze. 

“Cool” Harley replied with a small smile at a nod. “You guys haven’t like…..fucked in this room right?” Harley questioned and Peter seemed to choke on thin air.

“N-No! Of course not just lego i promise” He said, slauting like a scout while he turned red as a cherry. Harley seemed to chuckle again. Peter was glad he was laughing even a little bit. “Remember, if you need anything, i’m just across the hall” Peter reminded Harley, before moving into his room and collapsing on his homework convered bed, hearing the papers ruffle underneath. 

“J, what’s the status on Morgan?” Peter asks tiredly, rubbing his eyes with a yawn. 

“Morgan is currently in a deep sleep, so advancing to her room at this point in time would be pointless despite your usual insistance” JARVIS replied. Peter sighed with a small smile.

“Thanks J” He said before glancing at the paper’s he was lay upon and sighing “I should probably do my homework, right J?” He questioned the ai and he could almost hear the tutt in the ai’s voice. 

“Mr, Parker, as of currently you have been awake for a total of 36 hours and i would suggest you get some fruitful rest as suggested by Mr. Stark earlier due to your busy day tomorrow” JARVIS suggested and Peter sighed and sat up. 

“When do you suggest i do my homework then J?” Peter says, shuffling the papers and looking at the essay he had began to write for english class that was half written on his computer screen. By half written he meant one sentance.

“I suggest you do your homework tomorrow evening, before you return to school on Tuesday” JARVIS suggested. Peter thought it over for a second before shaking his head. 

“Patrol, JARVIS” Peter replied. He could hear the sigh in JARVIS’ tone. 

“Well, Mr. Parker, then it would seem now would be the only reasonable time to do said homework” JARVIS said and Peter sighed in relief, finding a reasonable reason to not go to sleep. “However, Mr. Parker, i do notice your hesitance to sleep despite your obvious tiredness. If this continues, i will be required to alert Mr. Stark of your recurring nightmares for the sake of your wellbeing” 

Peter sighed and then glanced at the papers he’d just piled up and then he glanced down at the computer and started typing all the incoherent thoughts he’d had earlier that made no sense for the essay he had to write. 

He continued to work and write until he finished his essay. When he finally did and saw the 1,500 word count in the corner he sighed in relief, throwing the papers onto the floor and closing the laptop supplied by Tony and shuffled into his covers, his head hitting the pillow tiredly. 

“JARVIS, gimme the time” Peter mumbled into his pillow. 

“It is currently 4:30am Mr. Parker” JARVIS supplied helpfully. It was early in the morning, that was good. If he slept now he wouldn’t end up in a deep enough sleep that he’d have a nightmare. 

“Can i uh- can i get everyones status’ please J” Peter asks timidly, switching his lamp off and curling under his quilt.

“Of course, Mr Parker, as always” JARVIS said and Peter could hear a smile in his voice “Mr Stark is currently still awake and working but despite him running on coffee as per usual, all vitals are fine and he should be sleeping soon. Miss Potts and Miss Stark have been sleeping for at least 6 hours deeply respectively. Mr Keener is currently still awake however seems to be approaching the room”

“Wait, What?” Peter asked tiredly before a knock echoed on his door. Peter sat up and switched the light on. “Come in!” He called out, his voice breaking as he did so. 

The door slowly swung open and Harley stood in the doorway in his pajamas, looking exhausted. “It’s uhh It’s really warm? I was just wondering how i turned the heating down” Harley asked and Peter swore under his breath.

Peter had to have his floor warmer due to the fact he couldn’t thermoregulate however he could only turn the temperature down on the whole floor. He had more blankets though, he’d survive.

“Sure” Peter replies, coughing lightly. “Hey, J? Turn the temp down please” 

“Mr. Parker if i may-"

“JARVIS, turn down the temperature please, to Harley’s standards” Peter yawned and glanced at Harley as the heat from the floor slowly started to dissipate. “Is that any better?” Peter asked, trying not to make it obvious he was feeling the heat loss already. 

“Uh, yeah that’s better thanks city boy” Harley said, saluting like Peter had done earlier in the day and closing the door,

It confused Harley as to why the ceiling guy seemed reluctant to change the temperature. It was too hot for Harley’s standards then it surely must’ve been too hot for city boy’s, considering he was a teenager and he had multiple blankets on. It was definetly better though, so he wasn’t going to complain. But there was something happening and he was going to find out what. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning when Peter came down for breakfast - meaning coffee - he was really cold. He walked into the kitchen, rubbing his hands together. The only other person awake yet was Tony, Harley obviously sleeping more due to the late night and the last couple days he’s had. Peter filled himself a cup of coffee and took a seat beside Tony tiredly. 

“I know you really hate it when i ask this” Peter starts and looks at Tony with puppy dog eyes. “Can we turn the temperature up a bit - like 30 minutes at the most?” He asked with the parker twinkle in his eyes. Tony sighed.

“You know the drill, i gotta ask J-”

“if it’s really that serious i know” Peter said and bit on his lip “It’s just i had to turn the heating down on my floor last night because it was too warm for Harley and it was really cold because my spare blankets are-”

“in the spare room shit kid” Tony said and then sighed “Why would you turn the temperature down if you knew you’d be really cold?”

“I wanted Harley to feel comfortable” Peter said “I also don’t really want to tell him about the y’know spidey thing”

“Why not?” Tony asks. It was obvious he was confused, Tony would trust Harley with his life and therefore so would Peter, in Peter’s eyes. Trust isn’t the problem.

“He’s been through so much Mr. Stark-”

“So have you.”

“and i don’t want anything to happen to him because he knows. I don’t know him but his mother and sister were just murdered he doesn’t need to know” Peter continued, ignoring Tony’s short interruption

“You’re too good, kid” Tony said, ruffling his hair slightly before turning back to his coffee and focusing his attention on downing that. “What do you think for breakfast? Should i cook because that’s probably common courtesy or should i let Barnes cook?”

“Breakfast?” Peter questioned, laughing into his coffee cup. “Firstly, since when do we do breakfast unless Barnes cooks something randomly and secondly, if we ARE doing breakfast no offense Mr. Stark but you’d problem poision us all” 

“You’re probably right” Tony replied, leaning against the kitchen counter and sighing. “JARVIS, call Barnes say Peter wants breakfast and he’ll come”

“Right away, Sir” JARVIS replied. 

“My saviour” Tony replied, putting his hands together as if he was praying. “Were having breakfast because thats what you’re supposed to do right? I want Harley to feel comfortable was it you said?” 

“This is a recipe for disaster” Peter muttered under his breath. Just then the lift opened and Barnes walked out. “Good Morning, Mr. Bucky!” Peter said as Bucky came and ruffled his hair in a more playful manor.

“You wanted breakfast kiddo?” He asked and Peter looked at him sheepishly then looked at Tony. “What do you want, Stark?” 

“Can you maybe, i don’t know, make a big breakfast? Like lots of breakfast?” Tony asked with pleading eyes. 

“Lots and lots of breakfast apparently” Peter says, rolling his eyes and refilling his coffee cup.

“You” Tony started, pointing at Peter accusingly “are getting to sarcastic for your own good” He grumbled.

“Sorry” Peter muttered with a small smirk as he sipped his second cup of coffee for the morning already. “It’s true though. He wants Harley to feel ‘comfortable’ by having us all have breakfast TOGETHER” Peter said and Barnes’ face immediatley froze. 

“Why don’t we start with me, you, Petey, Pepper and Rhodey? We can introduce people slowly through the day if he has to meet Clint and Sam at the crack of dawn i feel like you’d probably scare him” Barnes suggested and Peter nodded hopefully.

“Okay, sounds like a plan” Tony replied with a small smile in Peter’s direction.

Since the accords, the avengers managed to make up when Tony and Bucky had a conversation about what happened and they came onto ‘moral terms’ as they would describe it. Peter would describe it as almost friends. He was still wary around Steve, which would probably be why Bucky didn’t suggest Steve to be at the first breakfast. It was troubled waters but they were getting there. 

When Harley came downstairs, tired in his pajamas the first thing he could smell was bacon and maybe eggs. They smelt good. He could also hear music in the distance. He narrowed his eyebrows and got into the lift. 

“JARVIS can you take me to everyone?” Harley asked the ai didn’t even respond, just began moving the lift. When the door clicked open what he saw in the kitchen was quite sweet, Tony was sat at the kitchen isalnd with a cup of coffee smiling at the city boy and a greasy haired guy cooking together. The guy he hadn’t met yet seemed to be doing most of the cooking while Peter used the cutlery to pretend it was a microphone. He let out a small laugh and all three of the rooms occupants turned around and saw him.

“This what you guys do in the mornings usually?” He asked, approaching the kitchen and sitting next to Tony on a chair at the kitchen island. Peter resumed whatever he was doing with the other guy after waving slightly at Harley.

“Dancing at the crack of dawn? Yes.” Tony said, seriousness laced in his tone “Breakfast? No, not really we usually just drink a lot of coffee but we thought you might want something”

“Actually” the city boy said, turning to pick up his cup of coffee and leaving the cooking to the other guy. “Tony was going to make you suffer through a big breakfast with everybody which is not something you want to do any day of the week. I also do not dance in the kitchen every morning, not if i have school”.

Suddenly, the song changed and Peter jumped out of his chair excitedly. “Mr. Bucky! We love this song you can leave the eggs for a minute!” He said excitedly before, apparently Bucky, and the city boy started dancing in the middle of the room. Bucky seemed slightly reluctant but seeing the smile on the city boy’s face made him smile. 

“You okay kid?” Tony asks, looking at Harley for a second.

“I don’t know” He said honestly, turning to look at Tony. “On the one hand my mother and sister were murdered two days ago and im still kinda in shock i guess? Like i could just go home whenever i wanted but i know i can’t and it’s really weird and it’s like theres something weirdly missing in my chest y’know?” 

Tony decided to take note that Harley shared a lot more than Peter did.

“But?” Tony asked, hesitantly.

“But it’s kinda hard to think about that when a city boy you don’t even know the name of is dancing in the middle of Tony Stark’s kitchen with Bucky Barnes - aka the winter soldier - while i sit and drink coffee and talk about my feelings with Tony Stark” 

“Okay makes sense” Tony chuckled “We’re a bit chaotic”

“No it’s good” He said “Your kid, the city boy, he’s good at cheering people up without even realising”   


“Contangious smile, i know” He said, smiling at Harley. “He’s technically not my kid though, were nearly there. 3 months until the adoption becomes permanent. I talked to Pep last night and we were thinking of fostering you for a while, since you turn 18 soon, just so we can y’know keep you here safely and legally for now”

“Thank you, Tony” Harley said with a smile.

“No problem kiddo now let’s get these eggs before these two realise” He smiled and grabbed the pan, burning his hand slightly, letting out a yelp. 

Harley laughed slightly and decided he might like spending time with Tony and cityboy. He didn’t know everyone else yet though and that was a storm Peter didn’t know if Harley would enjoy.

Hopefully.


	3. the animal inside got a hold of us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Ned and Mj. Also Family Feels. Oh and Plot Development!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> afgdhjfdvufyhg so after this chapter i was thinking of doing a like idk ,,,, time skip??? to like a month ahead maybe??? because they've kind got relationships and stuff now but im not very good at writing the grief thing constantly and i want harley to start school and i feel like after watching y'know murder and whatever he'd be a bit traumatised for school and stuff but like ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i wanna know what you guys want??? should i just do like a one week time skip then he starts school and then just do big time skips while peter figures out what the hell is going on or is like a month okay with you guys???? idk just lmk
> 
>  
> 
> also im kinda starting my exams like,,, last week so updates may be slower

Harley didn’t know that meeting the rest of the team would be so tense and awkward. They seem to have no filter and the fact Peter was there was the only thing that seemed to keep them at bay with the questions. Harley thought he might like this Peter kid. 

Clint was the worst with questions. He didn’t seem to have any filter and apparently enjoyed spending time in the vents. He jumped through the ceiling vent and just yelled hi. Then suddenly, questions were spurting from his mouth at full speed and Harley had no idea what was happening initially.

Clint was the most overwhelmingly nosy whereas the most overwhelming to meet was probably Natasha. She had a cold stare and yet a warm heart. She looked threatening but the first thing she did when she saw Peter was call him  маленький паук which he didn’t know what meant but she enveloped him in a hug as she did so. When she saw him she had  small smile on her face and shook his hand. 

Tony was there with him all day, meaning the only avenger he was yet to meet was Steve. Currently, he was sat on the sofa with everyone else. To most people, a day like this would be overwhelming however to Harley it’s a breath of fresh air. He likes distractions and he likes trying to enjoy himself. He likes to ignore the gaping whole in his chest from memories of when his sister - so similar to Peter in so many ways - would jump on his back and give him big hugs and how his mum would kiss him on the head in an endearing way. In a similar way to how Pepper would call him sweetie and Peter honey and ask how they were doing. Harley was thankful for the distraction. 

However, his emotions were overwhelming him because he felt bad for feeling happy. He shouldn’t be happy without them. He shouldn’t be enjoying his time without them because life without them shouldn’t be this happy yet still so empty. 

Harley’s carefree attitude slowly seeped away as they sat and watched a movie. Peter was curled up on the sofa with a really big blanket thrown over him. Harley thought it was too hot for a blanket but it looked comfortable and snug and Peter seemed to have a weird thing about temperature. Peter suddenly seemed to jump up out of his seat quickly, catching the attention of the room’s occupants. 

“Pete?” Tony asked, questioning written all over his face. 

“Ned’s concert!” He yelled in panic, running to the elevator in a rush and calling JARVIS to take him to his floor. Tony chuckled lightly and nudged Harley from his position on the sofa. 

“You wanna stay here or do you wanna go with him?” Tony asked and Harley looked at him questioningly. He barely knew Peter. “It would be a good chance for you guys to get to know eachother and you’d get to go to a concert for free and- “

“Boss, Mr. Parker is requesting fashion assistance” JARVIS echoed from the ceiling and a few  people laughed endearingly. Tony gestured at the ceiling. 

“Yeah, okay” Harley said, trying to shake off the empty feeling and smiling at Tony before leaving to go upstairs. The lift stopped and Harley awkwardly walked into the hall and hesitated outside Peter’s door but before he could even knock the door was swung open wide and he was dragged in.

“Oh thank god” Peter said obviously panicking. “He’s been so excited about this for so long, he and MJ and the band they’ve been looking forward to this for so long and i cant miss it” He sighed. “One or two?”

He holds up a blue flannel and a red flannel, both of which looked tattered. Harley sighed and pushed his hands down. 

“Where do you keep your clothes?” Harley said and Peter automatically pointed at the closet at the end of the room. Of course he kept his clothes in the closet. Everybody keeps their clothes in a closet. He walked in and was overwhelmed. There wasn’t much in the big space, just a couple science pun t-shirts, some shirts, a lot of jeans and some jumpers. 

“Is this everything?” He asks Peter who is now stood in the doorway.

“I have enough, didn’t want to ask Mr. Stark for me and this is all i could bring with me when i moved in” Peter says, not commenting on the fact that all these clothes were already here when he moved in. Harley sighed and turned to look at him with raised eyebrows as he held up the find ‘x’ t-shirt with an amused face. 

“Really?” He questions and Peter blushes slightly, feeling awkward as he was unsure if Harley was teasing or not. Harley seemed to pick up on this. “Hey, kid, i’m kidding” 

“Oh-oh! yeah of course” Peter rambles. “JARVIS what time is it?” 

“The time is currently 17:35 Mini Stark” JARVIS replied and Harley noticed Peter jump slightly. 

“Shit i’m meant to be meeting them for food in like 25 minutes” Peter sighed and looked in the mirror in the closet. “I just want to look good at my boyfriends bands first big gig is that too much to ask” Peter sighs and falls backwards into the chair. Harley turns from the clothes with a small smirk. 

“Why don’t you do a Tony?” Harley asks and Peter narrows his eyebrows in confusion. Harley then grabs the dorky science t-shirt and a pair of jeans and a blazer, throwing them at Peter unceremoniously. “Dorky t-shirt and a blazer”

“Harley you are a genius!” Peter exclaimed, running into his bathroom and getting dressed. He comes back out and Harley smirks. He was great at this. “How do i look?”

“Like you’re going to woo the hell out of that boyfriend of yours” He said and Peter raised his eyebrows in disbelief. He moved over to the mirror and looked up and down.

“Really?” He asked Harley who moved behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Really, city boy” He laughed “Now go! Or you’ll be late” 

“Right, right” Peter says, grabbing some money and shoving it in his backpocket and starts walking out the door. He gets a few steps out the door before he pokes his head back into the room. “You’re coming right?” 

Harley jumps at the sudden mention of his coming along. He didn’t know he was invited on Peter’s accords. He shrugged and Peter rolled his eyes. 

“Come on! Please!” Peter says, giving him puppy dogs “Need to show my boyfriend the guy behind the amazing outfit, obviously” Peter says, making Harley feeling better about being invited. Tony invited him but he believed that was probably a pity move. 

“Okay” Harley shrugs, following the kid into the big city. 

When they arrived at the place they were eating - which was a whole in the wall thai restuarnt - Peter seemed to look mildly forlorn until he saw his friend and presumed boyfriend waving from inside. He dragged Harley in behind him. 

“Hey guys!” He says enthusiastically, kissing Ned on the cheek and sitting down beside him. “Sorry were late” 

“Who’s the new kid?” MJ asks. Harley sat down in the only other free chair at the table and raised his eyebrows. 

“Harley” he replied, raising his eyebrows. 

“And you are? What? Tony’s new kid or something?” MJ asked, making Harley flinch slightly. 

“Too soon, MJ, too soon” Peter reprimanded, looking from behind the menu “He’s living with Mr. Stark too, yes and he’s here with me. That okay?” 

“Obviously” MJ says, rolling her eyes “I don’t care”

“Yes you do” Ned points out and MJ scowls at him. Peter chuckles at his friends. 

“So, what’s everyone getting?”

They all order and eat. Harley stayed quiet most of the meal but Peter’s friends seemed nice enough. He barely knew Peter yet but from what he does know, Peter is quiet reserved but he’s also quite dorky and a science nerd and he wasn’t much different until he got a lot older. He seems really smart too and so do his friends. 

Then they went to the concert and the band wasn’t half bad either. It was nice seeing the smile on Peter’s face and his face light up everytime his friend and boyfriend were on centre stage. They mostly played cover songs but they were really good. They were moving onto the last song when something passed across Peter’s face and he automatically started looking around. 

“What’s going on?” He whispered and Peter looked to him as he forgot what was going. 

“Get out of here” Peter muttered, jumping to his feet and rushing off to the bathroom with his backpack. Harley stood up and looked in the direction of the boy who’d been growing to enjoy the company of. He raised his eyebrows at the people on the stage who also had a look on their face. This was normal and it looked bad. 

Suddenly the doors came crashing in a groups of peopled dressed in suits walked in with guns in their hands and anger in their voices. Harley panicked, this happened inside his house just 3 days ago now. His heart rate quickened until a red thing swung into the room at full force. He stood infront of the stage with anger filled in his eyes. 

Spiderman. 

He turned to look back at the stage and all the audience. Then he looked back at the crowd of bad guys waiting for a command to start shooting.

“I was really hoping to catch you guys alone but i guess that’s not the case” Spiderman quipped and sent a web flying at the main guy and then suddenly everything seemed to move in slow motion.

“Everyone go now!” Spiderman yelled, fighting bad guys and ushering people out safely through doors and windows. Harley was hidden behind a wall but when Ned and MJ ran around the corner and grabbed him he couldn’t stay whether he wanted to or not.

“Hey where’s Peter?” He asked them and they both glanced at eachother.

“We don’t know” Ned said, panic written in his features but Harley could tell he was lying. Either he knew what was going on with this kid.

They waited it our for a while, gunshots echoing from inside and loud quips being yelled every now and again. The fight was loud and sounded painful and Harley wished he could do something. Harley wished he could find Peter. His life in the past 3 days has been more eventful than it’s been since Tony showed up on his doorstep 8 years ago. But Harley knew one thing for certain, these were the same people that killed his mum and sister. Which means it wasn’t personal. Which means they died for no reason. 

They waited and waited and it was late and Harley’s phone was ringing constantly but he couldn;t go back without Peter.

It took a while but eventually a slightly battered Peter walked through the door of the auditorium. The first thing Ned did was run and hug him. 

“Hey, i’m okay always am” He muttered to Ned and it was only audible to him. “I love you” He whispered.

“love you too” Ned whispered back. 

“Okay great, glad you’re okay what the fuck just happened!” Harley exclaimed walking over. “Where were you?” 

“I heard something, I knew something was coming so i-i went to find out what it was” Peter muttered.

“Jesus christ, Tony is going to kill us” Harley said, running his fingers through his hair and checking his phone. He looked down at all the missed calls and called Tony.

“Hey” He said as Tony picked up on the first ring.

“Where the hell are you? Are you okay? Is Peter okay? What happened?” He rambled and Harley let out a long deep breath.

“I’m okay I promise” He said and he heard Tony let out a long deep breath but not quite long enough. He could still hear Tony worrying about them through the phone, especially Peter since he hadn’t mentioned him yet. “He’s a little banged up because he’s an idiot apparently but he’s okay too” 

“Okay good” Tony said and let out another sigh “I’m so sorry this happened so soon kid, you’ve been here two days!” Tony said, feeling really guilty about it. “You want me to come and get you and Pete?” 

“Please” Harley muttered, his voice suddenly much smaller. 

“Okay i’ll be there soon” Tony said and then Harley hung up. He wandered over to Peter and his friends. 

“Tony’s gonna come and pick is up that okay?” Harley asked and Peter nodded slightly. Harley sighed and looked at the kid in front of him. “I’ve known you two days, city boy and you’re already giving me heart attacks jesus christ. Don’t just disappear again okay?”

“Okay” Peter muttered, still clingy to Ned’s side. 

“You promise?” Harley asked and Peter nodded.

“Yeah, I promise” He mumbled back and Harley sighed and just pulled the younger boy into a tight hug. “You’re gonna be a great big brother, you know that?” Peter muttered and froze immediately afterwards realizing what he said. Harley chuckled lightly.

“You’ll be a great little brother, city boy” Harley chuckled “Go back to your boyfriend and MJ” Harley said, ruffling his hair and taking a seat. Peter and his friends came over and sat with him instead of what he’d assume they’d do and sit away. He smiled as Peter tiredly leaned on his boyfriend and fell asleep.

When Tony showed up, Peter had been transferred to Harley’s shoulder, Ned’s parents arriving and MJ going with them. The first thing Tony did was hug them. 

“You kids scare the shit out of me you know that” He said and Harley nodded surely as Peter nodded sleepily. “Let’s get you kids home and too bed, hey?” He said, taking Peter from Harley and they went home. They went home together because despite all the shit all of them had been through. Despite everything.

They’d become a family.


	4. but we don't feel regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> school !! two week time jump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhh i've been in the middle of exams so it's taken me a lil longer to get this one out so im sorry !! lmk what you think tho !! :-)

_ two weeks later _

The school alarm echoes through the floor which Harley and Peter had been sharing since he arrived at the tower. The alarm echoed loudly, JARVIS yelling at them to wake up. Peter’s enhanced senses quivered at the sound. He stood from the bed and blinked slightly, rubbing the remnents of sleep out of his eyes. He glanced at the bedside clock. It was 5am, as they had to wake up early to get to midtown.

“JARVIS, turn that thing off i'm awake” Peter complained, groaning as he opened the door to find Harley not awake.

It was Harley’s first day at midtown so they had to wake up early and make sure he and Peter got breakfast in time to leave for school. Peter walked over to the closed door in his baggy pajamas and started pounding on the door.

“Fuck off!” Harley yelled from inside the room and Peter groaned, swinging the door open and walking in. He clapped slightly and JARVIS turned on the lights in the room. Peter saw Harley curl further into his blankets.

“Come on, sleepyhead!” Peter exclaims, putting on a fake smile and dragging Harley out of bed “First day at Midtown!”

“Dont remind me” Harley grumbled, standing himself and rubbing sleep out of his eyes just as Peter had done earlier. “It’s shit i’m gonna know nobody!” Harley complained and Peter looked at him mock offended. 

“You know me and you know Ned and MJ. What more could you need?” Peter joked as they walked out of the hall and into the elevator. 

“I know, I know” Harley said, a sigh in his voice as they walked into the kitchen. “But i still need my own friends, y’know?” 

“Look you’re two years older than us, Har” Peter said with a small smile and raised eyebrows. He trailed after Harley who was headed to the cereal but actually headed to the coffee, pouring himself a cup of the strong stuff. “You’ll find friends easily! You won’t even be there long really, just about a year” 

“I get that, thank city boy” Harley says, grabbing a spoon for his cereal before glancing at Peter’s coffee. “That all you gonna have?” 

“All i ever have” Peter says, raising his cup up at Tony as he walked into the kitchen with his eyes narrowed at the cup in Peter’s hand. 

“Breakfast, now” Tony grumbled, pouring his own coffee. “You know the rules, kiddo, school today means breakfast”

“I’m not hungry, Mr. Stark” Peter complained, taking a seat next to Harley who had navigated himself to the breakfast bar and sat down. Harley nudged him. 

“You need to eat something, city boy” Harley said to him with raised eyebrows “Even if it’s just a ……. i don’t granola bar or something!” Harley hesitated and smiled, digging back into his cereal. That was when a bowl of cereal just appeared in front of Peter and Peter sat up and glared at Tony with all his might.

“I hate you” Peter grumbled, eating the cereal slowly just to take the piss. Tony glared at him and Peter rolled his eyes.

“If you really don’t want it, why the hell are you eating it?” Harley asked and Peter shook his head slightly. 

“Wasteful to not eat it” Peter says with a small sigh “and this asshole knows i think that” Peter said, gesturing at Tony who still only had a coffee in his hand. Tony gasped lightly.

“Peter Benjamin Parker, do not call my an asshole” Tony said, with no heat to the words and Peter smirked.

“Yes, dad” he droned, making Harley chuckle lightly. 

Peter checked his watch and pushed the now empty bowl of cereal forwards and downed his coffee. It was around 5:30am and he had to leave around 6:30 so he had to go and get his stuff ready. 

“I’m gonna go get ready” Peter says, jumping out of his chair with a small smile “You should too” Peter said to Harley before leaving to go upstairs. 

“Why is school here so early?” Harley asked Tony, confusion written across his face. Tony laughed lightly.

“It doesn’t, we just live on the other side of the state and i want you guys to go to the same school” Tony said and Harley groaned. 

“We aren’t even in the same year what difference does it make?” Harley asked and Tony narrowed his eyebrows. 

“He didn’t tell you?” Tony asked and Harley shrugged “Classes in his school are mixed ages because it’s a school for genius’”

Harley sighed and pushed his chair up with a small smile. At least he’d be in classes with Peter and his friends. Harley waved bye to Tony and headed back up to the floor to get ready. 

Peter also liked getting up early to go on early morning patrol sometimes. Peter didn’t know if that was the best idea since Harley was probably just across the hall and could come in at any time but his police indicator was beeping and he couldn’t just ignore it. So, he threw on his suit without telling Tony and jumped out the window and started swinging along. 

There was an early morning robbery which Peter could bet against bet wasn’t really a robbery. All the crime at the moment was the same peopl in the same suits, working for the same person. 

He swung along and landed on the roof of the building, trying to find a discreet way in. He setlled on the vents. He found where the people were and decided to listen in before he entered the fight so early in the morning. He was still tired. 

“Peter, I suggest turning back, you have only had 3 hours of sleep and it would be very dangerous and admittedly, stupid” Karen echoed to Peter and he sighed.

“Hey, no no no, i’ll be fine” Peter said with a small smile. 

“If you insist, Peter” Karen said, a hint of disbelief in his voice. 

This when Peter decided now would be a good time to drop in. He fell through the vent and swung through kicking one of the bad guys right in the back of the head, alerting the attention of the rest of the guys. He half stood on the guy who he’d knocked out and looked at everyone else there. There wasn’t many, this wasn’t a mass shooting like the theatre.

“Hi! Just thought i’d drop in” Peter exclaimed and moved out the way as one of the guys moved to punch him. Peter sighed. He had to get this over and done with so he could get back to the tower and get ready. 

He punched one of the guys, throwing them backwards. He used the wall to scale and jumped over the bullet one of the guys tried to sent at him, flipping around and knocking another guy out.

“Three down, two to go Karen” Peter says, his breathing quick. He managed the knock the last few guys out quite quickly. He did a double check, ensuring there was nobody to follow him and he left the same way he came in, swinging away from the scene and back towards the tower. He swung in through his bedroom window and took his mask off. 

“JARVIS, what time is it?” Peter asked, out of breath and quickly. 

“It is currently 6:30am” JARVIS echoed and Peter let out a sigh of relief. He still had a half hour to get ready. He threw his suit off and double checked himself for injuries before changing and rushing downstairs.

“Hey, Happy, Harley” Peter said with a smile, tilting back on his heels.

“You ready to go kid?” Happy asked as Peter noticed Harley already had all his stuff. Peter nodded and they headed to the car. 

They headed towards the car and Harley and Peter joked most of the way to the school. It took about an hour so when they arrived at 8am, they had around 20 minutes to get ready and get to their lockers. 

They arrived and the school was already packed by the time they arrived considering most the students were eager to be there. Peter wasn’t. Harley was pissed because he hadn’t told him that the classes were mixed as Harley had been worrying about not knowing anybody in his classes. It had just slipped Peter’s mind.

They arrived and went straight to office, Happy grumpily in tow. Peter looked tired and Harley looked fed up and they’d been there for 5 minutes at the most. They sat outside the office waiting for the principal. 

“Mr. Keener, Mr. Parker, Mr. Hogan, Would you like to come in?” The principal said, alerting the three people sat outside that they actually had to do something. 

“Now, i’m aware you and Mr. Keener are foster brothers? Is that right Mr. Parker?” The principal asks and they sit down. Peter nods.

“Yeh, that’s uh that’s right” Peter said, stuttering over his words in a way Harley had never seen him do before. 

“Great!” The principal exclaimed, making most people in the room jump slightly. “I’m sure you’ll make it very clear how to rules here work since you’re so set on breaking them, Mr. Parker”

Peter shrunk into his chair slightly, almost unnoticeable. Harley narrowed his eyebrows. Peter, breaking the rules? They must be talking about a different person. 

“Okay, Mr. Keener. Here is schedule, you’ll be in most lessons with your br- with Mr. Parker here per Mr. Stark’s request” The principal said, handing a sheet of paper to Harley. He was, in fact, mostly in classes with Peter. Peter sighed inaudibly. “While you’re here, Mr. Hogan, I’d like to request you make Mr. Stark aware of Mr. Parker’s dwindling attendance record as it’s becoming concerning”

“Concerning for me or for the school” Peter grumbled under his breath. Happy looked at Peter, trying not to laugh at the small comment. Harley was even hiding a smirk. The principal obviously just continued and didn’t hear Peter’s small remark. 

“It’s not only heavily affecting his grades but it’s also taking a toll on the attendance of the school and it’s reputation and we can’t have that” The principal said, he then turned to Peter. “I don’t mean to….. embarrass you in front of your brother however this is a conversation we needed to have and we haven’t managed to get Mr. Stark or Mr. Hogan in long enough for us to have this well needed conversation” The principal reprimanded.

“Sorry, sir” Peter muttered “Can we go now? Or were going to be late wouldn’t want to ruin that reputation of yours” Peter asked and the Harley burst out laughing at the remark. The principal sighed and gestured for them to leave. 

They headed to home room, already late as it is. They walked in and everyone's eyes automatically landed on them. Peter glanced at his feet awkwardly, not wanting people to look at him. Harley seemed to notice this and walked forward a little towards the teacher, Peter behind him.

“Hi, I’m new. I’m Peter’s foster brother” Harley says gesturing back to Peter. The teacher nods and fishes through her papers, finding the one about Harley. 

“Harley, right?” The teacher asks and he nods. “Okay, go and take a seat next to Ned at the back for me please, if that’s okay with you Peter?” The teacher asks. Peter looked up, the only other free seat was next to Flash. He sighed and nodded at the teacher, walking over to Flash’s desk as Harley made his way over to Ned’s desk. 

“Hey, Penis” Flash remarked to Peter has he sat down. The first thing Flash did was knock his things off the desk. This was not going to be a fun homeroom. Peter took a sharp intake of breath and got off the seat and grabbed his stuff. He put it back on his desk and sat down, immediately putting his head down on his arms and closing his eyes. 

This wasn’t gone unnoticed by Ned and Harley. Ned sighed as he sat there looking over at the desk as Flash continued to go off about god knows what which he hoped Peter was ignoring. It looked like he was trying too. 

“Does he do that often?” Harley asks, as he to looks at the desk where Peter and Flash currently resides. 

“Not really” Ned says with a sigh “Only if he’s sat with Flash”

“Why?” Harley questioned turning to look at Ned with concern in his eyes.

“Flash is kind of an ass” Ned says still looking at the desk in mild concern. “If he gets told to sit next to Flash instead of me, he usually ends up with his head on the desk” 

“So, that kid is the bully Tony always talks about?” Harley questions and Ned sits up quite quickly, looking at Harley.

“Tony knows?” Ned asks in disbelief and Harley shrugs.

“Not much, I think he put two and two together” Harley says, awkwardly. He was unsure as to why Ned was so surprised by this. 

“Peter doesn’t tell Tony anything” Ned clarifies, looking at Harley again with a look in his eyes Harley couldn’t read. “I love him and I don’t want anything to happen to him but he won’t tell Tony anything. Like anything at all. He’s still hurting but he’s ignoring it”

“Hurting?” Harley asked and Ned raised his eyebrows.

“Apparently, he doesn’t tell you anything either then” Ned said before returning to the questions in front of him. 

The next time Harley really got to talk to Peter on this day was at Lunch. He’d kind of gathered that Flash really didn’t like Peter most of the day but Peter seemed pretty great at ignoring it at this point. 

That was until they walking through the lunch room towards the table Ned and MJ were already sat and suddenly Peter just falls forwards into his lunch, his food going all over the place. Harley immediately went to help him up, putting his tray on the table closest to him. He turned around and saw Flash and a group of his friends laughing like Flash had just done the best thing in the world. 

“What the fuck is your problem?” Harley asks, stepping forward slightly. 

“Harley, it’s okay” Peter echoes from behind him. Flash laughs for a second as he steps up, walking over to Harley and Peter.

“What? You need your new boyfriend to take care of you?” Flash asks, snarling in Peter’s direction. “Oh wait sorry, Leeds is your boyfriend. It’s not like any of them care anyways”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean” Harley asks and Flash has the decency to look a little bit intimidated.

“It means that everybody fucking leaves him, man” Flash says, looking directly at Peter. “His parents, his uncle Ben, his aunt May. They all left because they didn’t care. Nobody does”

Something lit up in Harley’s eyes then. He looked at Flash with so much anger in his eyes that Flash stepped back.

“Don’t fucking talk about him like that” Harley says. Peter’s nervous gulp could be heard from across the hall, everyone was silent. They were watching the scene play out in front of them.

“Harley” Peter echoed from behind him, making Harley turn around to see his brother stood there looking tired. Harley’s eyes softened. He turned to go back to Peter. He was going to turn back, he really was.

“Pussy” Flash yelled from across the hall. Suddenly, Harley’s blood boiled and he turned around and punched Flash right across the face. Flash stumbled backwards slightly before pulling himself together. Harley saw him pulling his hand back to punch Harley. He prepared himself for the heat of the punch.

But it never came.

Peter was stood in front of him, holding his eye tiredly. Flash laughed lightly before turning to walk out of the hall. Ned and MJ came over, studying Peter’s face to make sure he was okay but Harley was frozen. 

He was trying to protect Peter but he just punched a 16 year old which resulted in his Peter getting hurt.

It was his fault.


End file.
